So, just who is this player who seems to be rated so differently by so many, and who has a massive role to play in today's Paris shoot-out.

Well, Serge Betsen Tchoua, 30, is ranked with 1990 World Cup star Roger Milla and Barcelona striker Eto'o as one of Cameroon's most famous sporting products.

Those two have starred at soccer for their homeland.

Betsen has made a massive name for himself in French rugby, where he finds tackling as easy as most players find lacing up their boots.

He is willing to put his head where most of us wouldn't put our feet - and he has the scars to prove it.

Quite simply, Betsen stops people. Whether it's Jonny Wilkinson - who probably still has aches from the 2002 Championship game - or the opposing No 8, Betsen stops them.

Then he pinches the ball to start a French counter.

Against England a fortnight ago, the "Biarritz Bombshell" made more than twice the tackles of any of his team-mates, including hits on Jason Robinson - arguably the hardest man in the game to tackle.

"He's a superb player," admits the in-form Williams, who goes head-to-head with Betsen in a mouth-watering individual clash this afternoon.

"He's simply indestructible, and he's the best No 7 in the world. He's so strong and very bold on the ball. He does so much of the dirty work for his side. He roams around everywhere on the field and he's a difficult man to take out."

French manager Maso says, "Serge is the best tackler and the best grabber of the ball in French rugby.

"But he is much more than a hard tackler. He is a good passer of the ball and he scores his fair share of tries, nine in 45 Tests.

"He doesn't simply do the average things, he is good at the flair ones as well."

And Maso explains how Betsen is the silent assassin of the French side.

"If you were to tell me that he had opened his mouth in the changing rooms, I would go into shock!" says Maso.

"He prefers to store everything up, but he is comfortable with that and we respect it as well. However, when he does offer an opinion we listen carefully because it is always worth listening to.

"It's not the quantity with him, it's the quality."

The man himself agrees that there's more to his game than his tackling. Team-mates at Biarritz are not joking when they call him the best centre at the club.

"Those who know me well can tell I'm not just a tackler," Betsen says. "I'd like to say I'm a rugby player in every meaning of the word."

Then - echoing Maso's claims - he gets a bit deep, "An opponent is like a mirror. He reflects back the image of your true worth. Fear is a good incentive. You need it to go beyond your limits."

Quite!

Betsen is also the one French player who can be counted on for a few tears before kick-off.

"I don't know why, but during the anthem I see the French flag in front of me, and it starts. The camera always gets me."

He's not wrong about the camera - the only area of Betsen's game that comes under scrutiny is his discipline.

He made his Test debut as a replacement against Italy in 1997 - and was immediately yellow-carded.

It happened again against England in the 2003 World Cup semi-final and he was suspended for six weeks for standing on Matt Dawson's head in that game.

His "trip" on Abbott in a Heineken Cup match in January broke the England centre's leg, but Betsen went unpunished.

Betsen is constantly seeking the advice of international referees about where he is going wrong, and even went to the extent of visiting a psychologist, but the World Cup incident and the stray foot that caught Abbott indicate he isn't 100 percent cured.

Bernard Laporte said in 2001 that Betsen would never be a regular member of the Test team because of his disciplinary problems.

Unfortunately for Wales, the French coach seems to have changed his view.

Betsen lines up against us today - and stopping him could hold the very key to the outcome of the match.